Joseph Grosso
Joseph Angelo Grosso (born 1943) was an American businessman, mob associate and debt collector known for his involvement with the Los Angeles crime family during the mid to late 1980s and for his involvement in the notorious Santa Ana night spot, The Mustang Club. Biography Grosso was a well traveled debt collector who later became a successful businessman that operated in legitimate as well as illicit businesses from California to New York. His most successful business venture was "Diplomat Limousine Service", which did steady business with branch offices in Nevada, California and New York. During his time in California Grosso met and became associated with William C. Carroll, who was an associate of L.A. family capo Mike Rizzitello whom he had met while doing time in Chino prison for fraud. Grosso met Carroll at a leasing firm owned by L.A. family soldier Robert Paduano in 1984. Grosso and a friend of his George Yudzevitch, known as "Big George", were well known debt collectors who collected debts for Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Grosso soon began to work for Carroll as his driver despite his thriving business ventures. The Mustang Club The Mustang Club was a well known nightclub in Santa Ana with its horseshoe-shaped bar, and topless dancers, it attracted many patrons and in the words of one Prosecutor, "The money was just pouring in". Jimmy Casino (Jimmy Lee Stockwell), was the club's originator and first manager, he was found shot three times in the head at his Buena Park home on New Year's Day, 1987 along with his girlfriend, who was also murdered. Carroll then took over the club, as he was one of the clubs biggest investors and was owed money by Casino, who despite the immense profits of the club could not pay off all of his loans and was also repeatedly hassled by legal troubles. In 1988, Grosso's friend Yudzevitch, who worked as a bouncer and a later a bar manager at the club was also found murdered. Grosso was an occasional driver for Carroll. Grosso also sold lingerie to the dancers at the club in a $10,000 business arrangement between Carroll and Rizzitello. In April of 1987, someone took a shot at Carroll on Harbor Boulevard after he left the club. Several weeks later, on April 30, Carroll and Rizzitello met at Emilia's restaurant in Santa Ana. Carroll wanted to talk about the lack of return of a $10,000 loan he had made to Rizzitello and Rizzitello had said he would help find out who had shot at Carroll. Grosso was present. Carroll testified that on May 1, 1987, Rizzitello and Grosso used a ruse to persuade him to accompany them to a vacant parking garage near the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, where Rizzitello shot him three times in the head while Grosso held him down. Despite being shot three times in the head, Carroll miraculously survived, although he was permanently blinded from the incident. After pointing the gun at the back of Carroll's head Rizzitello said "This is for not letting us eat" and shot him. Rizzitello attempted to kill Carroll for not sharing in on the profits of The Mustang Club. Carroll later decided to cooperate with authorities and named Rizzitello and Grosso, as his attackers. Rizzitello was found guilty of attempted murder and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Prosecutors contended that Rizzitello wanted to muscle in on the Mustang's profits and tried to remove Carroll, whom he believed would resist those plans. Mustang manager Gene Lesher testified that this was exactly what Rizzitello did. Prosecutors stated that Rizzitello saw the Mustang "as a high-stakes skimming operation, which would provide him a high level of illegally obtained income". Grosso admitted that he was driving the car, but he told the jury that it was a total surprise to him that Rizzitello was about to try to kill Carroll. He also testified that it was Rizzitello who had shot Carroll and that he feared for his life after testifying against the reputed mob capo. Despite his tacit cooperation, Grosso was sentenced to a 26-year-to-life prison term for being an accomplice in the Carroll hit. He is still in Jail at age 72. Category:Associates Category:Los Angeles Crime Family Category:Rats